


Aftermath

by Fictionwriter



Series: Night Magic [2]
Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 12:46:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2812475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictionwriter/pseuds/Fictionwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lewis knew the night the hunters got what they wanted was going to have consequences, but those consequences were not quite what he expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Pushkin666
> 
> Thank you, as always, to Moth2fic for the beta

ICU was quiet at this time of night, the only sounds the monotonous beep of the monitors and the rustle of paper as a night nurse flicked over the pages of her novel. Lewis liked the silence, it meant everything was ticking over as it should and the machines were doing their work. 

They had only let him stay because he’d said they were partners, leaving the meaning ambiguous. Now he watched, a sentinel as silent as the room, while Hathaway slept on. 

He shuffled in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position, one that eased the creeping numbness through his thighs and buttocks created by the hard-backed, hard-seated chair. Whoever designed hospital chairs could give the best of skilled torturers a run for their money. The discomfort keep his mind sharp though, the better for going over everything that had happened during the last few days, to analyse what had happened to bring James into the ICU and what he could have done to prevent that.

To be honest, there didn’t seem to be anything he could have done. But then he wasn’t often all that honest with himself, especially when it came to James. Could he have read the Winchester brothers differently? Anticipated what would happen when that damn witch’s talisman surfaced, literally. Maybe not, but the sight of James engulfed in pseudo flames would stay with him for a long time, as would their brief moment of shared intimacy in the aftermath – before James began convulsing. By the time the guardian support team had arrived James was unconscious, his body deathly still and Lewis had been afraid, the trip to hospital a nightmare. Lightning they said when the doctors finished their examinations and tests, despite the fact there had been no freak thunder storms over Oxford that night. 

It didn’t matter what they believed, just that they tried to help his partner.

The machine beeped on, eventually lulling Lewis into a doze he could no longer keep at bay.

Quiet voices and the clatter of charts woke him an hour later making him lift his head and gaze around bleary-eyed. Faint slivers of sunlight were sliding in under the venetian blind on the window at the end of the ward adding a different dimension to the muted artificial light of the ICU. He watched the morning shift changeover for a few moments then let his attention turn back to the machines monitoring James’ life signs.

James was looking at him, his eyes slitted behind half closed lids.

“You’re awake?” The question seemed superfluous even as he uttered it. James must have thought so too from the slight frown that creased his brow.

“Apparently.”

Lewis leaned in closer. “How do you feel?”

The frown deepened and Lewis wasn’t sure if it signalled James’ opinion of his latest question or genuine uncertainty on what he was feeling. The silence lengthened for a moment then James blinked and Lewis could see his hands clenching and unclenching under the bedcovers as his gaze flicked away from Lewis to take in the grey walls and sterile surrounding. 

“Where am I? What happened?” There was a sharp edge to his voice, confusion and panic replacing the frown as he pushed himself up, almost dislodging the cannula in the back of his left hand and setting the monitors off into a shrill cadence.

“Steady there, lad.” Lewis grabbed hold of his shoulders, pushing him back against the pillows as gently as he could. One of the morning shift nurses had hurried in and was fiddling with switches on the monitor. There was a sudden eerie silence. Lewis relaxed his grip as James gave up the struggle and sank back.

“You’re awake then.” The nurse, impossibly cheery, was busy checking cannula and readouts so missed the look Lewis turned on his partner. James missed it too, intent as he was on his study of the paraphernalia around his bed. The nurse fussed for a few minutes, unhooking the IV then taking James’ pulse and blood pressure. 

“You should go out and buy a lotto ticket,” he said when he’d finished. “Struck by lightning and you’ve come out of it without a scratch, or I should say burn. You must have the luck of the devil.”

James just looked puzzled. “Lightning?”

“Yes, remember? We were in St Giles’ taking brass rubbings of the headstones,” Robbie broke in. He’d given the first thing that came into his head as explanation for their nocturnal graveyard visitation, a not very convincing one on reflection but the best he could come up with at the time. James looked at him, his expression blank.

“Funny time to be taking brass rubbings if you ask me,” the nurse wittered on, ignoring them both while reaching for the electrodes attached to James’ chest. “Anyway, you’re awake now and your vitals are doing just fine. Reckon we can get rid of these. Your partner can stay awhile but he’ll have to be gone for doctor’s rounds. Never mind though, if you keep on like this you’ll probably be out of here after a few hours of observation then he can likely take you home.”

James was still staring, the puzzled expression turning to bewilderment. And Lewis wished the chatty nurse away because there was something wrong here, very wrong.

“What do you remember, James,” he asked gently.

“I. Nothing,” James said. “Or at least there’s flashes of things, but it’s confused.” He gave a shaky laugh and turned the full force of his gaze on Lewis. “I’m not even sure who I am. Or who you are.”

End


End file.
